KNOW YOUR RIGHTS: The right to be cared for

As a child, you have the right to be cared for by your parents or guardians. If you are in boarding school, the duty of care lies in the hands of the school administration. You have the right to be nurtured and protected. Should you fall sick, the person who is taking care of you has the responsibility to help you attain healthcare. In fact, article 226 of the penal code deems it criminal to refuse to provide care to a child or an unable dependent. Paragraph one of Article 226 states: “Any person with legal responsibility of a child who refuses him/her medical treatment shall be liable to a term of imprisonment of at least two (2) months but less than six (6) months and a fine of fifty thousand (50,000) to three hundred thousand (300,000) Rwandan francs.” It is further explained in the penal code that Penalties under Paragraph One Article 226 shall apply to any person who fails to protect or willfully deprives a child or a dependent of care or food due to the physical or mental state of the dependent for whom is responsible. Note that there is no excuse for refusing to provide you with medical treatment since article 45 of the law relating to the rights and protection of the child states that every child who is on the Rwandan territory must be affiliated to a medical insurance in accordance with relevant law. Further still, paragraph one of article 41 of the law relating to the rights and protection of the child statuses: “The Government is responsible for the costs of affiliation to the “mutual health Insurance” for orphans and other vulnerable children.” Moreover, article 227 of the penal code articulates that a parent or a guardian who neglects a child without reasonable cause to the extent that the health, security and the living conditions are seriously jeopardised or a child under care indulges in homelessness shall be liable to a term of imprisonment of at least two (2) months but less than six (6) months and a fine of one hundred thousand (100,000) to one million (1,000,000) Rwandan francs or one of these penalties. Paragraph two of article 227 of the penal code adds that “a parent or a guardian who jeopardizes the education of his/her child or that of a child under his/her guardianship through ill- treatment, parental drunkenness or misconduct shall be liable to the penalty provided under Paragraph One of this Article.”

Education

KNOW YOUR RIGHTS: The right to be cared for